The Department of Homeland Security said it was moving forward with ramped-up immigration enforcement in Chicago this week in an effort dubbed Operation Midway Blitz.
“This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American Streets,” the department said in a statement Monday. The department said the mission would be carried out “in honor of Katie Abraham,” who was killed in a drunk driving hit-and-run crash that happened in Urbana, about 130 miles south of Chicago, earlier this year.
Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the operation “will target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens in Chicago.”
The department did not specify how long the operation is expected to last, but a spokesperson with ICE said, in a statement: “ICE has always operated in Chicago, targeting enforcement around the dangerous criminal aliens that are drawn to this sanctuary city. … We will continue our law enforcement and public safety mission, undeterred, as we surge ICE resources in the city in coordination with our federal partners from across Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice.”
In a post on X, Gov. JB Pritzker accused the Trump administration of failing to communicate or coordinate their immigration enforcement effort with state and local leaders.
“Once again, this isn’t about fighting crime. That requires support and coordination — yet we’ve experienced nothing like that over the past several weeks. Instead of taking steps to work with us on public safety, the Trump Administration’s focused on scaring Illinoisians,” he wrote.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city has not received any official notice from the Trump administration about its immigration crackdown.
“We are concerned about potential militarized immigration enforcement without due process because of ICE’s track record of detaining and deporting American citizens and violating the human rights of hundreds of detainees,” Johnson said in a statement. “There are more than 500 documented incidents of human rights abuses at detention facilities since Trump took office, including deaths of detainees and alleged cases of sexual abuse of minors by federal immigration agents. Because of these incidents and more, we remain opposed to militarized immigration enforcement that runs afoul of the Constitution in our city.”
The mayor urged anyone concerned about the immigration crackdown in Chicago to visit a “know your rights” resource hub on the city’s website, at Chicago.gov/KYR.
The announcement of the immigration operation in Chicago comes after President Trump, in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, invoked imagery from the movie “Apocalypse Now” and wrote, “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning …’ Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accused the Trump administration of ramping up its campaign “to arrest hardworking immigrants with no criminal convictions.”
“These actions don’t make us safer. They are a waste of money, stoke fear, and represent another failed attempt at a distraction,” Durbin said in a statement.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he’s targeted for expanded federal enforcement, including Los Angeles and Washington. The move marks the latest flashpoint in a broader national struggle over how far the federal government can push local authorities to cooperate with its immigration agenda.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
